Car updates & shows visited.

Testing times at the MOT garage.

Through bad luck rather than iffy judgement, both mine and 'er indoors' car MOTs expire within the same week, so I had to spend a little time during April, prepping and checking over both the MX5 and my old Merc to give them a fighting chance when handed over to the MOT man.

First up was the MX5. Confidence was fairly high that it'd pass the test ok, so I just went around it, checking all the obvious stuff (lights, wiper blades, tyres and the like) before booking it in. The brakes had been replaced shortly before we bought it, and the exhaust was making no dubious noises, so all seemed well. Which, for the most part, was the case. Usually I stick around with the car during the MOT, but this time I was unable to, dropping the car off early and planning to collect it later in the day. I've used the same garage for MOTs on both old and newer cars for some time, and have a decent rapport with them. The car was dropped off at 8.15am, and left for the day.

Speaking to the garage later in the day, did highlight a problem that they had identified, and rectified, without contacting me first. Now they know that I am a tinkerer at heart, and usually contact me first before doing any work. This time however they didn't, and swapped out the headlights on the Mazda without contacting me first, citing some issue they had with the beam pattern.

Ok, the lamps weren't super-expensive, although by the time labour and VAT had been added in, it almost tripled the cost of the MOT. I could easily have had some replacement lamps in my garage, and I could have easily have fitted replacements myself, so I was a little peeved at being charged for the privilege without being contacted first. Given the amount of work I've put their way, I'd have hoped for a better deal really.

A few days later the Merc's MOT was due, so I decided to look elsewhere to get the test done. With it booked in, a check of the Merc highlighted a couple of things to sort out - both rear tail lights were dim (shot bulbs), and there was a chip in the screen which, whilst out of the MOT test zone, did look bad. The bulbs were swapped out easily enough, and a call was made to a local 'glass welding' fella, to get the chip repaired. The repair took 30-40 minutes or so, and involves slowly injecting a resin into the damaged area. The result is a chip that is virtually indistinguishable, and now very hard to spot, and all for a very reasonable 30 quid or so (especially when new screens, from Mercedes, cost £600 or so, plus the same to fit). The MOT attempt was then made, and it passed, with just a note that the front tracking is slightly out.

Classic car shows.

First show we went to in April was the Weston Park event in Shropshire, the first time I've been to this one. It was held over the Easter bank holiday weekend. We decided to go on the Monday, but from what I've heard from others, we'd probably have been better off going on the Sunday, as there was quite a number of club stands looking very empty when we were there.

Despite the many gaps, the display of vehicles was very interesting, and was a good opportunity to ogle many cars and light commercials that I'd not clapped eyes on before. There was a tidy E83W for sale (I'm a fan of these little vans and pickups), but was a bit on the pricey side given its condition I think. Other neat commercials included a rare Daf 33 pickup, a '39 Chevy pickup, and a Ford Anglia van.

Oddball cars were much in evidence too - one example was a home-made A35 convertible. The conversion had been done along similar lines to the pukka A30 Convertible on show at Gaydon, including shortening the doors and increasing the depth of the sills, to improve rigidity once the roof had been cut off. There was also a very nicely converted MG Magnette that had lost its roof, although the latter looked a bit more polished than the dinky Austin. Other unusual vehicles included a P6 Rover police car, a 5-window Ford V8 coupe from 1938 (er indoors voted this as her Car of the Show), Fiat Topolino & 1500 convertible, Viva GT, and a very low swoopy 1940s/1950s Rover soft-top that sadly I've got no information on. A few uncommon moderns showed their grilles too, including a Maserati Shamal and the weird looking Morgan Aero 8. Photos from this show will be on the site shortly.

The following weekend it was the turn of the Sandbach Transport Festival. The event wasn't run in 2005, so everyone was hoping for good weather at the 2006 running of this popular event, which includes a slow road run through the streets of this town, one-time home to Foden and ERF lorries. Again, there was an interesting assortment of classics on show. Favourites for us include the lovely Duple-bodied Bedford OB coach, a fab Foden JET-A1 aircraft re-fuelling tanker, a restored Austin A35 pickup, and a glorious Bentley, brought over by the factory for this event. The Sandbach show coincided with the national 'Drive It Day' - an idea to promote interest and awareness of classic and vintage cars with the general public, by encouraging all owners of older vehicles to have them out and about on this day. We went down in the 1949 A40, although didn't take part in the show. We headed back from Sandbach via the back roads, and popped into a rustic country pub alongside a canal, for a swift throat-moistener, before heading homeward at a leisurely 30-40mph.

At the end of the month is was time once again for the Cheshire Run, an event for older lorries and light commercial vehicles. The road run starts at a motorway services, and wends its way around the roads of Cheshire and North Shropshire, stopping near Whitchurch for its mid-way tea break. We decided to spectate at this mid-way halt. Despite the event clashing with the big 3 day show over at Llandudno, there was a good number of entrants taking part. Some of the lorries we'd seen at Sandbach were also spotted exercising themselves on this run, along with others that I'd not seen so far this year. The weather held up ok (bar a stiff breeze) and we enjoyed a few hours mooching around the old vans and trucks on display.

Ford Thames 300E.

Early in the month I'd been contacted by solicitors clearing a deceased estate. In an old garage they had found a Ford van, and asked for advice about selling it. As a long-time fan of car-derived vans and pickups, we (a friend of mine and me) decided to mosey down one day, and have a look at this van, which had been stored in a dry-ish garage since the early 90s. The description we had was fairly vague, and we'd expected to find a flat fronted 400E panel van. We were somewhat surprised (in a good way) to stumble across a 7cwt 300E van instead. It was in very original condition, finished in two tone, black & yellow, livery.

Speckles of surface rust abounded, but fortunately there was very little serious grot, other than some crumbliness underneath the rear arches. These old Fords (and the 100E on which they are based) can rot spectacularly, so this example was better than we could have expected. Sealed bids were required from all interested parties. We decided to put in an offer above the highest estimate, in a bid to secure it, but sadly we were pipped by a rival bidder. Ah well. Interestingly, in an adjoining garage, there was a grubby Mach 1 Ford Mustang, but that went off to a general auction and sold on I believe, requiring some restoration.

Morrison electric milk float

Another interesting commercial vehicle raised its head this month too, in the shape of a 1959 Morrison electric milk float. News was that this vehicle (and another slightly later example), if not collected soon, might get the chop as space was needed at its storage location. Not keen on anything with a little character being reduced to rubble, we hot-footed it over to see what the situation was with these milkfloats.

The first 'float, a '65 example, was still fitted with its (super-heavy) batteries and electric motors, and was just too heavy for the trailer we were using (despite it being a big trailer!). The weight was simply too much, and it wouldn't have been safe to try and tow it, so reluctantly we had to leave it behind. However we were able to collect the '59 milk float, as it was missing its motor and batteries, making it soooooo much lighter. Plus it had four wheels, unlike the three on the '65, so was a lot easier to get onto the trailer.

We're not quite sure what we'll do with this 47 year old milkfloat, but so long as it is preserved then we'll be happy. Whether the '65 will be saved by someone else I really don't know.

Looking at a Triumph Gloria (ish).

A while back I'd been keeping an eye on a Triumph Gloria listed on eBay, but hadn't received any bids. As it was not too far away, I decided to contact the owner and see if it was still available. It was, so I decided to drive over and have a look at it. I've always fancied having something pre-war to run around in, and these classy low-slung saloons look just the part I think. However the photos I'd seen of this one had confused me a little, as it looked like no other Gloria I'd ever seen.

I met the owner outside his lockup just as the weather was doing its best to flood the area, and was shown the Triumph. On the plus side, the condition of the car was very reasonable, the ash framing and overall bodywork being very sound indeed. There were other curiosities that I couldn't quite fathom out either, such as why it ran solid steel wheels when all Glorias I'd ever seen photographs of ran on spoked rims. Also the dash had been replaced with something of the correct shape, but made from something covered in clear perspex. I also wonder if the (quiet running) engine was original, or perhaps a replacement from a later car - Renown perhaps?? the front wings also looked a little odd, but at the time I couldn't put my finger on why exactly. I took a few more photos and went away again to do some more research, confident that if proof could be found that the front end styling was correct, it'd be worth buying as a runabout, albeit not very original in close detail.

The more I looked at the photos, the more I decided that the entire front end had been removed at some point, and replaced with wings from a Riley RM of all things, the part-recessed headlamps being the biggest giveaway. Whoever had grafted these bits on had done a very respectable job of it, and to the untrained eye could easily pass as being correct. The bonnet on this model should be a centrally hinged affair, but this one was a one-piece (slightly home-made looking) job, hinged at the rear with two chrome hinges bolted through the scuttle. From the bulkhead back, the car was more or less correct, but it was now very obvious that the front was totally wrong. The conversion had obviously been done many many years ago (probably in the 1960s). Whether the car had been crunched, and returned to the road with other wings fitted instead (original Gloria panels would have been hard to find), or simply updated in the 50s or 60s to make the car look younger, I really don't know. The incorrect wheels still suggested that the underpinnings may have been swapped out too at some time, and the engine I think was some time later than the 1936 build date of the original car. If the car had been 'right' I'd have loved to own it, but with sooo many question marks hovering over it, I reluctantly decided to back out.

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